shareen - 11-12-2008 at 06:22 PM
Can anyone recommend where I can find recordings of traditional Ottoman style taksim playing? Who are/were the great players? Who are the
Ottoman/Turkish/Armenian versions of say a Munir Bashir or Riyad Sunbati? Thanks.
Amos - 11-12-2008 at 08:37 PM
Sharon,
Udi Hrant Kenkulian was one of the great Armenian masters of the oud and violin, he specialized in taksim and in my opinion was one of the greatest
oud masters of all time...Tanburi Cemil Bey, the eminent composer and tanbur master (as well as other instruments) is widely considered as one of the
greatest contributors to the art of taksim. Tanburi Necdet Yasar is a must, modern oud master Necati Celik. Udi Yorgo Bacanos...
There are so many to include here, I am sure other members will have lots of ideas...
all the best,
Amos
John Erlich - 11-12-2008 at 08:47 PM
Hi Shareen,
In terms of what is generally available on recordings (don't forget that the Ottoman Empire was disbanded in 1917), here are my two suggestions for ud
taksim:
Şerif Muhiddin Targan: http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU970051KU030
Şerif Muhiddin Targan was not only a master composer and performer, but he founded the music conservatory in Baghdad that produced the Bashir
brothers, et al. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif_Muhiddin_Targan)
This collection: http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU9399006HM004
For an Armenian ud player in that general style, how about Udi Hrant Kenkulian? (Keep in mind that his serious study of ud began his ud studies as
the Ottoman Empire was being dismantled: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udi_Hrant_Kenkulian). A popular CD of his can be purchased here: http://www.tvondvdshop.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=193&upc=7...
I would also suggest Udi Yorgo Bacanos, who was an ethnic Greek: http://www.amazon.com/Udi-Yorgo-Bacanos/dp/B00000C2LL
Hope that works for a start!
Best,
John
Adel Salameh - 11-13-2008 at 01:08 AM
Cinucen Tanrikorur is one one the greatest oud players to come out of the Turkish school.....sufi musician and a great composer....he was a very
elegant oud palyer with alot of silent and emotion in his oud playing and a master of Turkish maqam.....
Udi Hrant, I have been in love with Udi Hrant for many years and every time I listen to him I discover something new about his oud playing.....his
playing is straight from the heart , great composer too.
these 2 masters are my favorite non Arab oud players which I have heard so far.
Best wishes,
Adel
shareen - 11-13-2008 at 06:07 AM
Thank you all for your posts. Any idea where I can get CDs of these players? Are there many recordings available for them?
shareen - 11-13-2008 at 06:11 AM
Oops...saw the links for the CDs thanks. I think I should clarify what I meant by "Ottoman"...yes I know the Ottoman empire was disbanded in 1917...I
guess I mean more that I am interested in the Turkish/Armenian style of oud taksim. I'm looking for traditional but more contemporary players of this
music whose CDs I can purchase and study from. I have heard a lot of great ensemble playing, but not much solo stuff. I will take all your
suggestions and begin my journey! Thanks again.
Ararat66 - 11-13-2008 at 10:20 AM
Hi Shareen
Try Ara Dinkjian ... he's done a series of cds over the last few years at the Jerusalem oud festival - the latest one 'peace on earth' is supposed to
be really good and I am ordering it tonight, try arpmusic.com. There is a really good cd by Richard Hogopian another Armenian in America called 'Best
of Armenian Folk Music' there are a couple of Armenian dances in there that he plays like no other ... really really fiery and full of zest.
Best wishes
Leon
John Erlich - 11-13-2008 at 10:24 AM
Hi Shareen,
I assumed that you were looking for oldest Turkish "ud master" recordings available. Targan, Kenkulian & Bacanos were from the last generation of
Ottoman musicians. I stand by my previous post...the old masters were truly "Ustads" (would that be "Üstadlar" in Turkish?) and those recordings are
worth having.
However...the recording quality, as you might expect, is rather "grainy" and can be a pretty cloying to modern ears.
For current masters, I highly recommend:
Necati Çelik: http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU9399151LN843
Yurdal Tokcan: http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU9399191AO365
and
Mete Aslan: http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU900346EE778 (Although the playing on this recording is a bit more stylistically "ordinary," it is for
that very reason more exemplary of Turking ud playing.)
My favorite Armenian ud player is Richard Hagopian. I recommend these recordings:
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Armenian-Folk-Music/dp/B000001IGG
http://www.amazon.com/Armenian-Music-Through-Richard-Hagopian/dp/B0...
All the best,
John
P.S. I love Tulumba.com/BuyArabic.com and think their customer service is excellent!
shareen - 11-13-2008 at 02:36 PM
I know Ara's work very well. Thanks for the other info as well! 
pirsultan - 11-13-2008 at 02:54 PM
For CDs produced in Turkey I can recommend Idefixe http://www.ideefixe.com/
I have bought lots and lots of CDs over the years from this site and never had problems and the prices are very good (CDs range from around AUD$6 to
AUD$10 plus postage). I guess Tulumba is good for people in the US but for those of us elsewhere with currencies worth a couple of round stones
against the US dollar, buying directly from Turkey is far preferable. Just remember that if you are seaching the Idefixe site for 'oud' CDs you need
to use the Turkish spelling 'ud'.